


Sometimes, Justice is an Option

by Goddess47



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen, Trapped, mission gone awry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:47:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29884089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goddess47/pseuds/Goddess47
Summary: They stood in the entrance of a natural cavern as the meteor shower fell across the landscape in front of them. It reminded Jack of the time he had been stranded on Edora. At least this time, he had Carter with him and, even better, a space ship.Oh. And Ba'al.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16
Collections: Stargate Winter Fic Exchange 2020-21





	Sometimes, Justice is an Option

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Samayla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samayla/gifts).



> For Stargate Winter Fest for Samayla who has very patiently waited for her fic! Hope you like this!

"And... there goes the Gate!" Jack sighed.

They watched in horror as a meteorite hit the Star Gate at the top of the circle and knocked it over. 

"The DHD was already gone, sir," Carter added. "Not a lot we could have done anyway."

They stood in the entrance of a natural cavern as the meteor shower fell across the landscape in front of them. It reminded Jack of the time he had been stranded on Edora. At least this time, he had Carter with him and, even better, a space ship. 

Oh. And Ba'al.

You couldn't win them all. At least Ba'al was still unconscious. Heaven only knew how much longer that would last.

"Looks like we're taking a road trip," Jack said as he bounced on his toes.

"Not going to be pleasant," Carter said wearily. "It's about a week to the nearest Star Gate. And it'll be close quarters." She held her right hand close to her chest, having either sprained it badly or, Jack suspected, broken it in their fight to subdue Ba'al.

Well, maybe 'ship' was too big a word for what they had. Ba'al had arrived alone in a smaller form of a tel'tak through the Gate. Arriving alone is what they had hoped for. They hadn't planned on meteor showers. At least they were able to get the ship under a rock overhang to protect it from the meteors. If they lost the ship, then things would be really dire. The SGC knew where they were but it was too close to _you can't get there from here_ territory for comfort.

Three people in a tel'tak for a week would get old... fast. At least there would be a bathroom.

"It's what we've got," Jack shrugged. "Should we wait or get out of here now?"

"Wait," Carter said firmly. "The meteor shower should at least slow down by nightfall. On this planet, that's another thirteen or fourteen hours. The meteor shower will abate as the planet rotates. It'll be safer to fly out of here then."

"Okay, rest then. I'll take first watch," Jack said. 

Carter nodded and moved back further into the cave. She unrolled a sleeping bag and kicked off her boots. Her gun went under the pillow and she climbed in. 

Gathering wood for a fire wasn't going to happen, so Jack settled near the entrance where he could keep an eye on the ship and on Ba'al. 

They had gone to P28-247 to bait a trap for Ba'al. The Tok'ra had unbent enough to give them information about this planet and that it had extensive naquadah mines. The Goa'uld that 'owned' the system had died -- Jack suspected the Tok'ra had killed him off but wouldn't admit that -- years ago and the mines hadn't been worked since. Daniel guessed that the miners had fled the planet when they realized that their 'god' was gone, so there were next to no people living on the planet. There were scattered groups of blips on a Life Sign Detector but they had yet to encounter anyone. If there were regular meteor showers, Jack figured that would also encourage folk to leave the planet. 

The bonus was that Carter hoped they could do some mining of their own at some point. Access to naquadah was always a good thing. Meteors? Not so much.

SG teams had spread rumors that the system had been taken over by a young Goa'uld known as Horkos. Daniel had protested the name for his own reasons but Jack had fallen down a Google rabbit hole and had been amused by it. They had included some not-so-veiled insults to Ba'al to get him to come to this world alone.

The good news was that Ba'al had taken the bait. The bad news was that he had shown up as they were in the middle of setting up their trap. The entire team had come to the planet with supplies, Daniel and Teal'c had returned to Earth for a second shipment of weapons and additional camping equipment they wanted to have on hand. Jack and Carter were setting up camp and waiting for Daniel and Teal'c to return momentarily when Ba'al came through the gate. In the end, Jack and Carter were able to subdue Ba'al but now the three of them were stranded together.

Ba'al stirred. Jack sat up, waiting to see what would happen next. They had stripped Ba'al down to his skivvies, to remove any weapons he might have hidden. Carter had been fascinated by some of the things she had found and had packed everything up to take back to her lab. 

"O'Neill." 

"Hey! Where's that echo-y voice thing you guys do?" Jack asked.

Ba'al shrugged. "I have learned to do without it. It lets me pass among you Tau'ri when I can speak as you do."

"Huh. Interesting. Can, like, all you Goa'uld do that?" Jack asked.

"It is something I have perfected on my own," Ba'al admitted. "I do not know about the others."

"Good to know."

"What is happening?" Ba'al asked.

"We're waiting for the meteor shower to slow down so we can leave," Jack said.

"The Chappa'ai?"

"Taken out by a meteor."

"So my ship is the only way off this planet?" Ba'al's eyes glinted with humor.

"Seems so," Jack shrugged. 

"How do you know I have not secured the ship from you?" 

"Carter already moved it around," Jack gave a small grin. "We did want to make sure it was protected from the meteors."

"Ah."

"Listen, I have no reason to trust you and you have no reason to trust me," Jack said calmly. "If we're to get out of here alive, we need to come to some sort of agreement. I'd like to include something along the lines of promising not to kill each other for the duration."

"And why should I do that?" Ba'al asked with a frown.

"Well, if nothing else, we could just leave you here," Jack replied. "No Gate, no one else knows you're here, and the area's pretty much uninhabited. So no one to bow and scrape and save your ass."

"That would be unfortunate," Ba'al agreed.

"Carter also implanted a... thingy in your back," Jack went on, waving a hand toward Ba'al. "It's a tracker, so we know where you are. Oh. It also has a small explosive charge. It probably wouldn't kill the host, but it would kill you."

"Oh! Very clever!" Ba'al nodded. He wriggled around and evidently found the small wound. "Let me guess. You've hidden the trigger somewhere and, of course, I can feel that it is embedded in a location that I am unable to reach on my own."

"I knew you were bright!" Jack grinned. 

Ba'al shrugged. "I would do something similar."

"So. Do we have a deal?"

"You will trust my word?" Ba'al was astonished.

Jack shrugged. "Not as far as I can throw you. But I'd like a chance to get out of here alive."

"As would I," Ba'al admitted. "I will not attempt to kill you 'for the duration' as you said."

"Excellent!" Jack clapped his hands.

"Would it be possible to have some clothes?"

"Since it's relatively comfortable, we can do that once we're on the ship. I can give you some of mine. Since no one else will see, it doesn't make any difference how anything fits."

"When do we leave?"

"Night time. Ish. Need to wait out the meteor shower. Carter says it should lighten up by then."

"She is quite brilliant."

"That she is." 

They lapsed into silence. The thud of meteors hitting outside the cave entrance came at irregular intervals. 

Carter stirred and sat up in the sleeping bag. Jack knew from long experience that, unless it was an emergency, to let her wake at her own pace. 

"How're you feeling, Carter?" Jack asked.

She shrugged. "I could use some coffee."

"Not much chance for that," Jack admitted. "Too risky to scavenge anything for a fire."

She sighed. "Okay, makes sense." She awkwardly scrambled out of the bed. "I'm gonna pee--" She pointed to the back of the cave.

Jack nodded. 

She came back and rooted through the first aid supplies. "Water?" she asked as she held on to a packet of pills.

"How's the wrist?" Jack asked. He handed her a canteen.

"Hurts," she admitted. 

"I could fix that," Ba'al offered.

Jack considered. "Carter? Up to you."

She moved her hand gingerly and winced. "If you think we can do it safely, it would be a good thing. I really think it's broken."

"Get the healing thingy, then," Jack said. 

Carter grinned. 

Jack stood to one side as Carter moved to the other and handed the device to Ba'al. Luckily, they didn't need to untie his hands to let him use the device.

"Your wrist?" Ba'al asked.

Carter nodded.

"Hold your arm steady," Ba'al directed. 

Carter sat down and braced her arm on her knee. Ba'al held the device over her wrist and went still as he concentrated on performing the healing. The healing beam disappeared after about two minutes.

"It will be tender but the bone should be healed," Ba'al said.

"Thank you," Carter replied. She sat back.

"Eat and rest," Ba'al said. He looked out the entrance of the cave. "If your estimation of when it is optimal to leave is correct, we still have several hours to wait."

"You stand guard for a minute," Jack directed. "I'll get MREs from the supplies."

"We can't afford to waste any," Carter protested.

"Not a waste," Jack said firmly. "You need the calories. Without Teal'c and Daniel we should have plenty of food."

"There are some supplies on the ship," Ba'al added. "Only for a couple of days, but that will extend anything you may have."

"Good to know," Carter nodded. She sat down where Jack had been and Jack went to get the food.

"You want one?" Jack asked Ba'al.

"I will wait," Ba'al said. 

"Okay," Jack nodded. He brought two packages out to Carter. She ate all of the first one and part of the second. She handed the leftovers to Jack, who finished it off. 

"A week of this?" Jack said, frowning at the MRE. 

Carter shrugged. "Pretty much."

"Goodie," Jack sighed. He had done worse but it didn't mean he had to like it.

He let Carter doze as they waited for nightfall. He'd feel better once they were on their way and he could sleep then.

They each had an MRE as it got dark, Ba'al making a face at the taste. Jack laughed silently to himself.

The meteor shower did slow down at nightfall. They had packed up their supplies and organized everything for the fewest trips. The partition that existed in some tel'taks wasn't there, so it was one room, plus the bathroom. They put the supplies against the back wall and buried Ba'al's weapons in a locked box that was deliberately put on the bottom of the pile. It wasn't perfect but it was all they had.

Jack took Ba'al onto the ship as the last step. If anything untoward happened, Jack wanted to make sure he and Carter were on the ship. If Ba'al didn't make it, they could send someone after him. Eventually.

Carter took the controls and lifted them off the planet. Ba'al seemed faintly impressed with her skill in flying the tel'tak. Jack knew the lingering ghost of Jolinar helped with that, although Carter had been a good pilot even before they had walked through the Stargate that first time.

"Going out of our way first, to escape this meteor field," Carter explained. "It'll be at least another hour before we can think about setting up the autopilot."

"Not a problem," Jack nodded. He was glad to be on their way at this point, another couple of hours of travel weren't a big thing.

"Want some clothes?" Jack turned to Ba'al. 

"Yes."

Jack rooted through his pack and handed over a set of clothes. "Most of this should be fine."

Ba'al held up his cuffed hands. "Do I need to wear these for the next few days?"

As much as Jack wanted to say 'yes,' he knew it would be next to impossible to do so. He unlocked the restraints.

"No mayhem until we get home," Jack reminded him.

"I am on this ship also," Ba'al reminded him. He took the clothes and Jack thought it was interesting that he was a couple inches taller than Ba'al. The Goa'uld usually had enough presence that it felt like he was taller than Jack.

Carter hid a giggle when she saw that the pants dragged on the floor and were loose in the waist. 

Once away from the meteor storm, Carter lay in a route to the nearest Gate. Ba'al watched as she entered the coordinates, nodding as she finished the entry.

"On our way!" she announced. "And now that the autopilot is set, no one really needs to fly the ship but we should be watching in case there are problems."

"Good to know. Now what?" Jack asked.

"Your turn to sleep," Carter said firmly. "I'll be fine."

"Okay, six hour shifts," Jack said. Shorter shifts meant they were less likely to be tired and less likely that Ba'al could take advantage of either of them.

"That works," Carter replied, setting her watch.

"What would you like me to do?" Ba'al asked.

"You said you had food here?" Carter asked. "I'd kill for something that wasn't an MRE. If it won't spoil, it would be a good change once a day or so."

"Most of it will keep for several days," Ba'al admitted. "There is some fruit that should be eaten sooner."

"That's perfect!" Carter smiled. "I'd love some."

They spent the first few shifts sleeping. Even Ba'al. Evidently, even a Goa'uld needed to take a break every once in a while. Jack thought it was odd to watch Ba'al sleep. It made him look too human.

Jack finally got bored. Not bored enough to work on mission reports but bored enough to dig deep into his pack and pull out a book. 

"Do you have another one of those?" Ba'al asked. 

Jack looked up, startled.

"What? You are surprised I read Tau'ri books?"

Jack shrugged. "Never gave it a thought, I guess. It's not going to be much, but you're welcome to it." Jack gave Ba'al the book in his hand. 

Ba'al read the title. " _Nine Princes in Amber_."

"We call it fantasy," Jack replied. "It has magic and multiple realities and conniving family all trying to become the ruler. I read it once already but thought I could study the politics of it. Now that I know what I know, it makes me think the author knows something about aliens and other worlds. But it's the first in a series, so it's fairly open ended."

"Interesting." Ba'al turned the novel over in his hands and read the back cover. "Thank you, but what will you read?"

Jack brought out an electronic tablet. "I have lots more books here. Just like to read a real book once in a while." 

"Ah!"

They settled into reading, Jack noting that Ba'al seemed focused on the book.

"This is a fascinating story," Ba'al said some time later. "As you say, the author has some extraterrestrial information available to him, there are too many coincidences for it to be random."

"Exactly!" Jack nodded. 

"But it is well written. You say there are more stories?"

"Ten books and several short stories. The first five books are about Corwin. You should be able to find them easily."

"Good to know."

Being one smallish room also meant there was little privacy. It was four days into their trip on Jack's rest period that he stood up. "I'm going into the minuscule bathroom for a while to just... sit. If you need the bathroom, this is your chance."

"I'm good," Carter called from the pilot seat.

"I will be fine," Ba'al nodded. 

Once he shut the door, Jack realized how silly he sounded but the opportunity to be alone for a bit was welcome. There was nowhere but the toilet or the floor to sit, so he sat on the toilet, leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

He dozed and only awakened when the alarm on his watch went off.

"Oh, damn," he swore softly. Falling asleep sitting up on a toilet wasn't the best idea. His neck was out of whack and his feet had fallen asleep. He stamped his feet to get rid of the pins-and-needles feeling, stretched in place, and washed his face before exiting.

"Feeling better?" Carter asked.

"Yeah, thanks," Jack admitted. 

"I'm gonna..." she pointed to the bathroom. 

Jack moved away from the door. "Sure. I'll take over." He moved to the pilot seat.

"I could do that," Ba'al offered. "It is my ship after all."

"Nah, we got it," Jack said. 

Jack finally got bored enough to start the mission report he knew he'd have to do. It was mostly there, except for the ending. 

They finally arrived at the planet with the Gate. It was -- barely -- habitable but looked windswept and uninviting from orbit.

Carter dialed up the Gate from low orbit and heard some relieved voices when communication was established.

"General, I'm enacting plan Zeta," Jack said into the radio.

"I trust your discretion in that," Hammond replied. 

"There's no good answer here, sir," Jack admitted. "It's the least of all evils."

"Understood," Hammond replied. "Contact us when you're ready to come home."

Carter closed the communicator.

"Come on," Jack said to Ba'al.

"What do you have in mind?" Ba'al asked.

"There's a Gate down there," Jack nodded at the planet. "I'm going to put you in an escape pod and let you find it. If you survive and get away, then, well, we'll do this again another day."

Ba'al tilted his head in consideration. "I would never have expected justice. I never would just let you go."

Jack shrugged. "I don't like it, but you've kept your word. It may or may not be easy, but I'm giving you a chance."

Ba'al stepped into the escape pod. "Until we meet again!" He saluted Jack as the door shut.

"Carter."

"Escape pod away!" she called.

He went to the front of the ship. "Carter, take us home."

Months later, Jack laughed softly when SG-17 handed him a letter they had been given off-world with his name on it. 

_Thank you for the book. I have read the rest of the stories and was amused and fascinated. It speaks much to your Earth politics, so much so that I must think on it for a while._

Jack couldn't decide if that was good or not.


End file.
